COALVILLE TOWN 1-2 BARWELL: FULL MATCH REPORT...

Barwell Battle For Bragging Rights Over Cagey Coalville

Coalville Town 1-2 Barwell

Boxing Day arrived and the Canaries were due in Ravenland for a holiday bash of spunky, scything tackles and a relentless physical clash to prove local superiority, during a festive football feast full of frantic excitement. Only 240 onlookers bothered to turn up though on what became a bitterly cold afternoon and the fact that there was a Castle, a Torr and two Towers on view, made me think of the ancient Romans getting involved in a right old skirmish with the Britons at Ratae (Leicester). Sadly, the expected raucous combat failed to materialise, as Barwell mostly dominated a sometimes tedious encounter and I reckoned that it more resembled Roman Legionaries practising with their wooden Gladius swords so that nobody would really get hurt…

SEAN BOWLES IS FORCED TO APOLOGISE TO THE OFFICIALS THAT HIS DERBY HAT HAS BEEN LEFT IN THE DRESSING-ROOM...

The visitors moved the ball better than the Ravens were able to and it was disappointing that Nat Watson of Town was rarely a feature on the day, when his ball skills can be so worth watching. A push on a Raven defender early on, missed by the rather irritating referee, who too often appeared to react late to yells from players about having been fouled, then blow his whistle hurriedly, despite the fact that he seemed to be letting the game go on, allowed the gentlemanly Luke Barlone to run free on the right, after Lee Torr had slipped over. Although Owen Story made ground towards the near post, the ball ran on and past the far upright. A Nigel Julien shot was blocked following an Alex Tomkinson free-kick and then Barlone maybe kicked turf when his low shot trickled to home ‘keeper and skipper Sean Bowles.

BOWLES LOOKS DECIDEDLY SHAKY AFTER HIS FALL...

Bowles was in a derby, which is the American word for a bowler hat, which corresponds nicely with his name I guess but he was to depart the match early and hat-less to pay a visit to a local milliner no doubt, after advancing from goal to catch another Barwell cross, this time by the marauding Cleveland Taylor following a neat pass by impressive Canaries’ skipper Brady Hickey. Bowles was flicked acrobatically into the air as two players moved to challenge for the ball, the fall hurt the goalie, Hickey was incensed that a free-kick was awarded to Coalville and Barwell were thus thwarted. Then Ryan Robbins, now back in a Ravens’ shirt of course, raced clear on the left and evaded the rush of ‘keeper Liam Castle but could only shove a low centre across the penalty-box for Canary Joe Ballinger to boot away. Bowles soon departed… He was replaced by Charlie Hornby, who trains well… (Get it?)

YES, SEAN IS MISSING HIS HAT...

SO HORNBY REPLACES HIM...

WATSON, MISSING HOLMES, IS HOPING THE CLUB SIGNS SHERLOCK FROM MARINE NEXT WEEK...

Liam Castle remains from the Barwell team I saw do so well some years back, so it was good to see him still performing with real presence and he would be the one to preserve the Canaries’ victory late on. Hornby received a back-pass from Luke Foster but the new goalie’s awful left-boot slice offered the strongly built Barwell forward Callum Ball a chance near the right byeline but his touch deserted him and the ball rolled wide. Coalville had been totally inept up to this point and despite the promptings of Liam Walshe and Jack McMillan, their guests were stronger in midfield through the efforts of Tomkinson, Julien and Hickey. Steve Towers did manage a 27 yard shot, as did Robbins following strong rushes within moments of each other but both were woefully off target and Hickey then roared forth into the Coalville defensive zone but somehow didn’t score either. A right-side centre was nodded back inside from beyond the far stick by the towering Ball (Tower Ballroom?) but Hickey’s header flew straight into the grateful gloves of Hornby from a few yards out.

"HEY, LET'S FORGET THE GAME AND BOOGIE..."

"OK, MAYBE NOT..."

Hornby collected a 25 yard drive by the elusive Hickey, Foster lunged in on Barlone to suggest that the skirmish was about to become a rumble. Robbins was tripped, an advantage was played which didn’t materialise and the referee offered Barwell a free-kick for another offence. Weird. Robbins was clearly frustrated by the lack of offense engendered by his colleagues and he was soon flagged offside on the left but thrashed a shot at Castle anyway, who beat the ball away with aplomb. The referee cautioned the aghast Robbins… The official lectured a number of players for slight misdemeanours and this became really boring for players and frozen spectators alike, for he was giving an impression of indecisiveness, which none of us appreciated. Perhaps he was asking for more fight? OK, maybe not… 

RYAN ROBBINS LOOKS EXASPERATED...

...& HE LOOKS AGHAST NOW HE IS BEING CAUTIONED FOR HAVING A SHOT AT GOAL, AFTER THE REFEREE HAD BLOWN HIS WHISTLE...
THING IS, THERE ARE LOADS OF BALLS LYING ABOUT THESE DAYS TO BE ABLE GET ON WITH THE GAME INSTANTLY ANYWAY...

Half-time arrived and I wondered whether things might improve on the pitch. Surely Coalville would sort themselves out? And Robbins might have done just that following a Barwell corner which Watson headed away. Robbins raced off on the left but after cutting inside, his finish was disappointing and into the side-netting. Barwell capitalised upon the miss by taking a deserved lead on 54 minutes and Hickey was the scorer. More Barwell pressure led to a hurried Coalville kick away but Hickey controlled it 20 yards out and made a strong run into the penalty-box, Danny Jenno spotted the danger but was unable to prevent Hickey from clipping an astute low shot from inside-left beyond the advancing Hornby and just inside the far upright.

0-1...

SKIPPER HICKEY THE SCORER...

McMillan did manage a run and low shot which Castle tumbled to save easily but McMillan, like colleague Walshe, was substituted soon afterwards. Anton Brown and Rory Coleman replaced the midfield pair but Robbins soon miscued badly on the right side for Town then skewed a left-footer almost sideways, before Torr was cautioned for arguing about a throw-in decision, suggesting how physically tame the local derby was in actual fact…  The eager visiting left-back Eddie Nisevic, who had been lively was replaced by Liam Kay, once a Raven, now a Canary but strangely, after a Julien half-volley had cleared the Coalville crossbar, the hosts grabbed an unlikely equaliser in the 78th minute and the creator was the rapid, attacking home right-back Kyle Bryant, who did impress hugely throughout the match.

His run at inside-right led to a low drive which cannoned back off the base of the right upright but only into Coleman’s path and his rebound found the net to great delight from the Ravens’ fans behind the goal. Even the flags ruffled in the cold wind and the side-drum, er, quivered… Coleman had scored for Coalville, which was fitting somehow…

1-1: COLEMAN FOR COALVILLE...

Instantly Barwell struck back though, like a wounded bear at a baiting Old English Bulldog and Hickey was this time the provider with a fine left-flank corner. The flag-kick was won off Jenno who had blasted the ball to safety after Barlone’s excellent curling shot from inside-left had rapped against the Coalville crossbar. The move had been smooth, involving Julien and Kay, before Story had shoved the ball back to Barlone, 19 yards out, left corner of the penalty-box and his shot was rather fine. Barlone had already become angry with Nisevic, so it was good to see him joyful after the winning goal came from the ensuing corner in the 79th minute. Hickey’s delivery dropped at the far upright and somehow Story bundled the ball into the net.

STORY FALLS IN PLEASURE...

HE HAS BUNDLED IN THE WINNER...

...& THE CANARIES HAVE DOWNED THE RAVENS...

How he did that is another story… I recall seeing Owen Story plague Truro’s defence in a Brackley home game some years back and I wondered how his career would progress… 

Ryan Baldwin replaced Barlone and the replacement had been rather lively during the half-time warm-up and indeed had smacked some decent shots at the goal-frame (manager take note?) Then finally, Watson looked a threat for the Ravens but after moving inside silkily, his shot from 20 yards flew high and wide. Coalville pressed more at last and Brown and Coleman looked to be improving things for their team but after pressure on his defence, Story set off to complete a storybook finish, racing into the left side of the penalty-box with Ball to his right but the winger lifted a wasteful shot too high. A Barwell player kicked the ball away when a free-kick was awarded to Coalville but escaped the punishment Robbins had earlier received for a similar offence. Even if the referee hadn’t seen it, both linesmen couldn’t have missed it. Ah, inconsistency, the secret of being a paid official… Although offside, Brown headed badly wide for the Ravens as time waned, so he was probably relieved to see the raised flag but Castle brought the story to a close with a resounding save in added time and even then the referee ended the match in slightly controversial circumstances.

A clever pass by, I think, Watson freed Massiah McDonald centrally past Ballinger but Castle advanced to make a fine deflecting save from the striker’s flicked shot. Barwell cleared the resulting corner and Story suddenly ran clear at inside-right to complete the story once more but he was baulked by the commendably retreating and covering Watson near the 18 yard line. Story fell to the ground but amid calls for a penalty, even a free-kick, the referee was oddly moved to blow the final whistle… Hmm, convenient that.   

And so the Battle of Owen St turned out to be more of a dominoes game at the local pub but the affair wasn’t without its treats. Hickey was clever on the ball, Story was always likely cause a problem or two (but how well does Story read the game?). Barlone and Ball as a pair formed a real presence in attack and with Julien finding far too much space to mop up, unhurried in midfield and Tomkinson aiding Hickey so well, defenders Craig Stanley and Ballinger were rarely troubled, even by such a dangerous duo as Ravens McDonald and Robbins. Jenno and Foster in the home defence were harassed, Torr was unable to get forward as much as I am sure he would have liked but credit to Bryant for a fine performance for the hosts.

Me? Drove back to Solihull and cooked one of the great UK meals: mash with cold turkey, accompanied by powerful, wind-breaking, stonking pickled onions from Alrewas near Burton… Yes, really…

It is, after all, what I do…

TEAMS:

COALVILLE TOWN:

SEAN BOWLES (CAPT), KYLE BRYANT, LEE TORR, DANNY JENNO, LUKE FOSTER, LIAM WALSHE, JACK McMILLAN, STEVE TOWERS, MASSIAH MCDONALD, NAT WATSON, RYAN ROBBINS.

SUBS:

ALEX DEAN, ANTON BROWN, RORY COLEMAN, LUKASZ ROJEWSKI, CHARLIE HORNBY (GK).

BARWELL:

LIAM CASTLE, CLEVELAND TAYLOR, ED NISEVIC, CRAIG STANLEY, JOE BALLINGER, ALEX TOMKINSON, OEWN STORY, NIGEL JULIEN, LUKE BARLONE, BRADY HICKEY (CAPT), CALLUM BALL.

SUBS:

LIAM KAY, RYAN BALDWIN, SAM GROUSE, DECLAN TOWERS, MAX SMITH-VARNAM (GK).